A message from State Senator Dan Duffy about Illinois’ budget problems:

Dan Duffy

Illinois faces a tremendous financial challenge.We can not pay our bills.

We are accumulating billions of dollars in deficits and we are borrowing money with NO plan to pay it back.

To top it off, we have raised income taxes on small businesses and families – taxes people can not afford.

We are facing a $22.6 billion deficit in five years – a figure which no one contests – and a scenario in which the “temporary” 67 percent tax increase will become permanent.

If we stay on this current path, companies and families will continue to leave our great state in droves.

This week I, along with the entire Senate Republican caucus, proposed more than $5 billion in spending cuts to the state’s budget. We have carefully analyzed the entire budget and made tough decisions between maintaining essential state services – and finding ways to reform the way we spend your tax dollars.

Without a doubt these are tough cuts to make.

They will reduce the size of government and many government services.

But these are very tough times for Illinois and we must stop playing political games with people’s lives. Enough is Enough. We can not continue to spend, borrow and raise taxes.

To see our specific plan regarding how to get Illinois back on track, please click on this link.

Finally, Illinois Reality Check.com, a specific plan and a real solution. Hopefully the majority leaders in Springfield will listen and this proposal will start an honest, open discussion about our future.

Sincerely,

Dan
State Senator